An appeals court wants defense lawyers to explain why they believe Broward Circuit Judge John Patrick Contini should be allowed to preside over dozens of sentencing hearings after prosecutors accused him of crossing an ethical line in March.

Defense lawyers have until Wednesday to respond to the appeals court's request.

Contini, who began serving in January, wrote an e-mail to an assistant Broward public defender offering advice on how to argue for more lenient sentences, known as "downward departures." Prosecutors at the Broward State Attorney's Office balked when they learned of it and asked the Fourth District Court of Appeal to remove Contini from nearly 1,000 criminal cases before him.

In April, the Florida Attorney General's Office sided with the prosecutors, asking the appeals court to grant the motion. They argued that Contini violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and appeared to show favoritism to defense lawyers.

Frank Delatorre, a supervisor at the Public Defender's Office, said at the time that Contini gave generic advice not attached to any particular case, and that prosecutors were aware of his desire to clear non-violent cases such as drug possession and driving with a suspended license.

The appeals court later asked prosecutors to list only those cases where the defendant has been convicted or pleaded guilty but the sentence has not been imposed. The number of cases was not available Tuesday.

Contini has declined to comment on the issue, saying he is barred by law from discussing it.

Prosecutors have until June 22 to respond to any arguments made by the defense lawyers.